Pelosi denies being informed about waterboarding

Los Angeles Times ^ | 10:14 AM PDT, May 14, 2009 | Michael Muskal

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The House speaker says the Bush administration deliberately misled Congress. GOP says Democrats were told.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has become a lightning rod for GOP criticism on the issue of enhanced interrogation of terror suspects, denied today that she was told waterboarding was used on detainees and insisted that the Bush administration had deliberately misled lawmakers.

In a televised news conference, Pelosi accused the CIA of misrepresenting what was going on with the questioning of terrorism suspects when intelligence officials briefed legislators on the Intelligence Committee in 2002. At the time, Pelosi was the ranking Democrat.

"We were told that they had legal opinions that it was legal and were not told about other legal opinions to the contrary," Pelosi said of the briefings. "We were told specifically that waterboarding was not being used."

Pelosi said she learned later from other members of Congress about the CIA use of waterboarding. "I wasn't briefed. I was informed that somebody else had been briefed about it," she said.

The issue of who knew what about the use of enhanced interrogation techniques has become a political firestorm. Republicans, led in recent days by former Vice President Dick Cheney, have generally backed the use of "enhanced" interrogation methods on terrorist suspects.

When Democrats complained and called for investigations that could lead to criminal charges against top Bush administration officials, Republicans have countered that the techniques were approved by Democrats like Pelosi. In effect, Republicans have threatened to turn the issue into an attack on leading Democrats, implying that they too could face charges.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

She is waterboarding herself in public.

And I love the scene!

[Liz]

Pelosi is waterboarding herself in public....

I hear Democrats are apppalled---that their party's leader is such a jerk.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Now we have the NY Times carrying the story....FR Thread:

List Says Top Democrats Were Briefed on Interrogations; ......

SO why the NY Times and LA Times and the stories TODAY?

[Grampa Dave]

She is waterboarding herself in public.

And I love the scene!

Maybe some of the great graphic art freepers can come up with a scene of Pelosi waterboarding herself.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Duh...she had a Televised News Conference...OK!

[Grampa Dave]

"Now we have the NY Times carrying the story....FR Thread: List Says Top Democrats Were Briefed on Interrogations; ......"

SO why the NY Times and LA Times and the stories TODAY?

She may have outlived her usefulness to the party and may be thrown under the bus to save 0b0z0's fast moving agenda.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From Drudge:

*********************************

THEY LIED TO ME!
'Congress Was Misled'...
Flustered..
Fuzzy...
Dems: CIA briefers may have broken law...
Cheney request denied...

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

See #67.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

This is worth reading....FR Thread started....on the actual press conference....and the drip, drip, drip of the revelations and comments by Nancy...

Opinion : The Speaker misspeaks ( Comments on the Press Briefing by Nancy )

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

See link at #69 for latest version.

[TigersEye]

SO why the NY Times and LA Times and the stories TODAY?

They have to pick somebody to back now that this issue has gone beyond ignoring. Pelosi or 0bama? Not a tough choice for them. Pelosi created this PR mess with her pathetic CYA and by not backing off when the polls indicated that the public is sour on trashing the military. 0bama was a little slow with that too but Pelosi was stone deaf.

Just the kind of crisis Rhambo likes to take advantage of. I heard someone say that Rhambo and Steny Hoyer are tight. What President wouldn't want a Yes Man of his own leading the House?

[RVN Airplane Driver]

Pelosi is a lying charlie uniform november tango!

[potlatch]

Thanks for the pings.

FLYING HIGH - CRASH AND BURN

[Grampa Dave]

Excellent summary of what has transpired and is still happening.

[Seadog Bytes]

RE: "Maybe some of the great graphic art freepers can come up with a scene of Pelosi waterboarding herself."

Actually Dave, I think someone may have already done that one...

           

[Seadog Bytes]

Thanks for the ping!

     

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks, your jpg and potlatch’s are a great way to sign off of FR.

Hey, 0b0z0 have your head sou Chef Rambo turn up the heat on the Pelosi quagmire, er, stew.

[devolve]

.

Perfect potlatch!

“The High And The Mighty” !!!

[potlatch]

Thanks devolve.

Lol, Drudge Report headlines on Pelosi; ‘they lied to me’, ‘flustered’, ‘fuzzy’, ‘congress was misled’, etc.

In one statement she said her top security ‘aide’ was briefed but didn't tell her till 5 months later.

She's totally lost it now.

The High and The Mighty, great song but don't think we have it.

[potlatch]

Lol, love those orange and green gardening boots!!